When a patient sees a healthcare provider for an ailment, often the patient is provided samples of pharmaceutical products to try. This may be done when the healthcare provider is unsure which medication will alleviate the patient's symptoms or illness, or when a prescription is very expensive. However, this form of distribution can be dangerous. The healthcare provider may accidentally provide the wrong sample to the patient, might not keep accurate records of what samples were given, or may not be aware of possible interactions with medications the patient has been prescribed by other providers.
Additionally, the distribution of sample pharmaceutical products by healthcare providers is costly. Pharmaceutical companies must send the sample drugs to representatives, who are then paid to distribute the samples to local healthcare providers. These samples must be individually packaged, often with expensive safety features and elaborate advertisements. Further, the pharmaceutical companies must cover the cost of the samples themselves regardless of whether the healthcare provider ever actually distributes the samples. All of this adds to the soaring prices of medications.
Thus, there is a need for a system that allows healthcare providers to provide patients with access to sample medications within a more controlled environment, such as a pharmacy. Further, there is a need to reduce medication and medical supply costs by removing the expense of representatives and individual sample packaging.